Beetroot Soup

Beetroot soup with ginger, garlic, and chilli; a warming, filling, and healthy meal. Perfect for a cold autumn day. Can be eaten on its own, or as a starter or a side dish. The soup is vegetarian and can, with some small adjustments, be vegan.

The exact amount of the ingredients listed is not super important. As for the type of potato, use whatever you have at hand. I used some fingerling potatoes, and one Adirondack potato(the blue/purple one) I had left over from a few days ago. The potato will help thicken your soup, but you can leave it out if you want to. Adjust the amount of ginger/garlic/chilli to your liking.

Ingredients:

• 400 g/14 oz (2 medium/large) Beetroot
• 125 g/4.4 oz Potato
• 1-2 tbs Ginger
• 1-2 tbs Chilli pepper
• 1-2 tbs garlic
• 1 tbs butter or oil
• Spices of your choice, I used:
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Juniper berries
  • Allspice
  • Thyme
  • One vegetable stock cube

Mince the ginger, the garlic, and the chilli. Chop the potato and the beetroot into dices. The size is not important, just pick a size and stick to it. However, the smaller the dice, the quicker they will cook.

Add some butter or vegetable oil into a pot over high heat and add the ginger, garlic, and chilli. Once it starts to smell awesome, stir fry it for 2-3 minutes. Be careful not to burn it, but do allow it to brown a bit.

Add the beetroot, the potato, and the spices to the pot and pour over just enough water to cover it. You can always add more water later, if you feel it needs it. Bring the pot up to a boil, then lower the heat to a slow simmer. Allow it to simmer until the beetroot is fork tender, meaning you can push a fork, or something similar, into it without meeting resistance. This will take 30-45 minutes.

Once everything is fork tender, take it of the heat and blend it up. If you are using a stand blender, be careful not to fill it up more than halve full. Overfilling a stand mixer container with hot liquid may cause the lid to come loose. You do not want the lid to come loose when the mixer is running, learn from my fail. If you think the mixture is to thicc, add more water. Give it a taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve it up and if you like, swirl in some cream.

This soup is quite healthy. It is low in calories, low in fat and high in fibre. If divided in four portions it only 100 calories. It is a little high in sugar, but keep in mind that this is naturally occurring sugar, there is no added sugar. It is however low in protein, so I personally like to pair it with a slice if crisp bread topped with cottage cheese or a boiled egg.

Let me know if you decide to try it out. Enjoy!